Province forms education team to solve class size issue in schools

The provincial government believes it has found a way to resolve a major concern at the bargaining table with teachers.

In addition to a dispute over wages, the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF) wants to address the issue of class size and composition within the collective bargaining agreement.

Education Minister Gord Wyant said the important and complex matter needs to involve talks with teachers and several other education partners.

On Wednesday, Wyant announced the formation of a provincial education team consisting of parents, teachers, local school boards, senior administrators, Saskatchewan Association of School Business Officials, the STF and himself. This new team will take a look at the challenge in the classroom and search for possible solutions.

“The suggestion from the STF that we set up a process within the collective agreement isn’t something that I’m prepared to agree with, but I do acknowledge the class size, and particularly composition, is an issue in Saskatchewan and it’s a conversation that is greater than the STF,” said Wyant.

Wyant said once class size and composition are included in a collective agreement, principals and administrators become nothing more than “compliance individuals” to comply with arbitrary numbers for class size.

He said the needs of one school division differ from the needs of another and resolving the issue at the local level allows for flexibility.

“To have a blanket approach in a collective agreement I don’t think is the right way to go,” said Wyant.

The education minister gave his word that the province is committed to addressing and solving the issue, saying both he and the STF have the same goal: To make sure the children in the classrooms are taken care of.

“Teachers can take me at my word that I’m interested in coming up with some solutions,” said Wyant.

While the STF is encouraged the provincial government is recognizing these serious issues, it will not accept a collective agreement that does not address class size and composition issues.

Wyant’s word is not good enough for STF president Patrick Maze, who wants a solution in writing.

“The concern we have with another committee in the education sector is the fact that this really won’t have any accountability on government,” said Maze.

Maze does agree with Wyant in that school divisions face different challenges when it comes to class size and composition.

For example, in rural areas teachers may be teaching multi-grade classrooms resulting in a high workload. In northern Saskatchewan, Maze said there are teacher shortages because of a difficulty with recruitment and retention. In the cities, the issue tends to be more focused on the class size.

One solution suggested by Maze is to set up a fund that would go toward high-needs areas across the province. He suggested finding that money by dipping into the health benefit account which has a $70-million surplus.

“It’s just not simply a matter of throwing a whole bunch of money at the problem and expecting it to go away. I don’t think that’s the answer,” said Wyant.

The province already plans to use $18 million of the health benefit surplus in its offer of a $1,500 one-time payment per teacher in the first year of the new contract.

Maze said there are no easy solutions to the issue but said it has become serious enough that he believes now is the time to resolve it in the collective agreement instead of leaving it to the local level as has traditionally been done.

“It’s not an easy feat, but at the same point we need to have some fix and the fix is not the status quo,” said Maze.

Maze said 50 per cent of teachers said class size was their top priority, above salary.